Your in Europe so you know how Renault is pronounced.

Let me explain for my Amercian brothers and sister.

Renault is pronounced "Ra-Noooooo".



That is serious

 

That's not my point, though...what I was saying is that all Volvos were all designed pretty much one way up until the mid-late 1990's, then after Ford ownership they were never the same again. They were completely different from traditional Volvos....regardless of who designed them. That is similiar to the arguement that mag was making about Saabs, under GM ownership, not being real Saabs anymore.

 

Would it cost less to purchase Volvo or Saab or would it cost less to advertise Infiniti? They don't even need separate dealerships yet (although they do eventually if they are to succeed), just need some extra space at Renault or Nissan dealerships.

I wouldn't mind if they took over Saab, Volvo's actually doing okay under Ford.

Volvo doesn't have "big" cars either. The S80 is only midsize.

 

I agree. I made that point in my first post......they already own Infiniti. Besides, companies that bite off more than they can chew sometimes end up getting in trouble.

 

You guys are completely missing the point.
The European way of thinking is not like the US way of thinking.
There is no way they could make infinity a succes over here, selling as much as Saab or Volvo in a short timeframe. Not without some huge investments.
Even then the European customer is very conservative and won't choose a new high end brandname over a known brand.
Look at Lexus sales numbers over here and then look at the competitors. For example GS sales last year where in double digits over here in Holland, E class mercs sell like hotcakes (thousands).

So buying an allready known brand that sells well would be the cheaper option with a better chance of succes.

 

Maybe, but weren't there naysayers about Lexus in 1990? Didn't people say much the same as you're saying now?

Lexus not making inroads into Europe may be explained by lack of diesel, small petrol engines, emphasis on luxury instead of sport. Lots of reasons. I'm sure you guys know more about it than I do. I can't imagine a strongly focused approach by Renault, headed by Ghosn, couldn't do well with Infiniti if the company really puts its mind to it.

 

Back in 1990 they said the LS was a great car but didn't have his own personality.
They didn't say they wouldn't make it.

If we look at the sales number in Europe for Lexus cars, its still really low. In the past 15 years they haven't been able to really make some impressive sales numbers. They can't sell the numbers that Audi/BMW/Mercedes sell in the same model cars.
This is partly due to Lexus not offering diesel engines and partly because they have an image problem and don't even do any comercials over here (well, they just started doing RX comercials).

Back to infinity, they don't offer a diesel engine in any of their cars that I know of. So if they want to succees they need to develop some new engines, need to get a good dealer network set up, need to do one hell of a job marketing the brand.
What I am saying is that it will cost them a lot, and I mean a lot of money to do so.
Buying an allready established higher end brand and building that a bit further to their own liking is the low cost option.
Imo they will also be able to make a profit sooner that way, it's all about saving a buck.
Smart business if you ask me.

 

I agree, I think they'd push volvo in a wierd direction. I enjoy the current Volvo interiors... they have this sort of odd, ergonomic, contemporary scandanavian-office furniture look to them. IMO, nissan interiors look kinda of immature and lacking class.

 

The newer interiors are pretty nice. See the redesigned FX interior? Nissan/Infiniti exteriors are also pretty cool. If they do purchase Volvo, I wouldn't be surprised if they try to stick to Volvo/Scandinavian flavor, though.

 

Infiniti has had a a terrible time in Mexico, and we have cars and a market similar to Europe. Acura opened its door so we will see how it fares.

 

I agree...don't really like their design sense, personally.

To be perfectly honest, I don't see Ford letting go of Volvo. It would be a stupid move if they did so, particularly since Ford is using Volvo for platform sharing, particularly with vehicles like the Five Hundred.